As I embedded below from his Instagram, hopefully there will be more of this down the road, but for now, I'm going to keep enjoying "Small Nothing."
Not exactly The River Empires, The Gloomcatcher nor Falling Up, but maybe a little of each?
Showing posts with label Falling Up. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Falling Up. Show all posts
Friday, November 15, 2019
Jessy Ribordy - Small Nothing [1B]
Solo tune, that I dig quite a lot.
As I embedded below from his Instagram, hopefully there will be more of this down the road, but for now, I'm going to keep enjoying "Small Nothing."
Not exactly The River Empires, The Gloomcatcher nor Falling Up, but maybe a little of each?
As I embedded below from his Instagram, hopefully there will be more of this down the road, but for now, I'm going to keep enjoying "Small Nothing."
Not exactly The River Empires, The Gloomcatcher nor Falling Up, but maybe a little of each?
Wednesday, May 10, 2017
Northern Abbey - Glimpses (2017)
New track from Northern Abbey. Nick Lambert of Falling Up's project which I have always enjoyed, even as sparse and limited the releases that have come.
But with Falling Up's retirement, I imagine Nick has more time to work on this stuff. Great acoustic/attmospheric/chamber folk/rock, etc. Somewhat similar to The River Empires for whatever reason.
This tune specifically does remind me of the last FU album in some ways. But I do wonder if the title "Glimpses" references more to come soon.
Northern Abbey is a solo project by Nick Lambert. (Falling Up Guitarist) He loves all the greenery, forests, rain, lakes, and people that the northwest brings together, and writes music as a sort of soundtrack to all of it.
But with Falling Up's retirement, I imagine Nick has more time to work on this stuff. Great acoustic/attmospheric/chamber folk/rock, etc. Somewhat similar to The River Empires for whatever reason.
This tune specifically does remind me of the last FU album in some ways. But I do wonder if the title "Glimpses" references more to come soon.
Northern Abbey is a solo project by Nick Lambert. (Falling Up Guitarist) He loves all the greenery, forests, rain, lakes, and people that the northwest brings together, and writes music as a sort of soundtrack to all of it.
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
Vague News: The River Empires+Gloomcatcher+Unnamed Project
https://twitter.com/JessyRibordy/status/810210940016685057
I've been trying to follow everything Jessy has been doing after the end of Falling Up a couple of years ago, and I noticed a game Bethel Woods, a new board game I think based on some of his recent writing, was released:
But the potentially BIG news, is that twitter question above confirming there are still *plans* for The River Empires, The Gloomcatcher and this unnamed new project to happen.
But, 7 years since Epilogue came out,..the time frames on all that stuff I suspect is still unclear.
This new project, may be the thing with the soonest arrival time given its new and thus likely something with current motivation.
Blah Blah Blah...it's all just hope right now I guess. I do know Jessy has been busy doing other things other than music (writing, and likely the development with this new game), so that just makes sense to remain patient as possible. A bit like Matt Mahaffey and sElf, after hearing that podcast this week, it is totally understandable why there hasn't been all that much sElf music the last decade, because he's paying his bills doing other things outside of the band I/the fans love.
But that post above does at least bring some light to The River Empires and The Gloomcatcher not being 1-album wonders, etc.
I suppose if I knew some people to play it with (unlikely my wife), I might want to look into Bethel Woods at least. I should try reading up on it I guess.
And as far as the Unnamed band, I still can't help but hope somehow Casey Crescenzo could be involved, but despite his moving to the state of Washington which is geographically closer to Jessy (whose in Portland, Oregon) than in SoCal of course, per Casey's schedule and few times I've heard him talk about Jessy and TRE in questions/interviews, I don't know if he's in regular contact with Jessy. But I'd love to find out he was and just being quiet about it (or not asked recently enough, etc).
edit:
Jessy just followed up in a post from a minutes ago, Noon 3/15/17 . Like I posted above, I suspect he's referring to the new unnamed project.
I'm waiting to announce until the first single and artwork are ready so that it's special. Keep holding tight. You're all the best!
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
2015-2016 Albums Anticipation Videos
Not perfect, but also a lot of ground covered in a reasonable amount of time. Many of course I didn't include, and the 3rd actual preview entry likely will include many artists/titles that I failed to mention (Protest the Hero for example)
Sunday, January 10, 2016
2015-2016 Preview/Anticipation ******PART 1*******
2015-2016:
Okay, well this is the 1st part of a 2 or 3 part series of entries about the current and upcoming albums for the year. Of course as I adopted a couple of years ago, the year began November 1st, and so November and December albums are included.
As for this entry, it is the stuff that has come or are scheduled to be released at this point, along with a few that seem highly likely given the information.
The next entry or two though, is where a lot of the blue chips will show up, but of course many may come much later, or of course not even at all. But to say a lot of the names in the next 1 or 2 are on my mind a lot, is accurate (Fjokra and Pepe Deluxe to name just a couple of them).
But as far as the below list/calendar, it does include some strong and optimistic stuff. Having just heard the Brooke Waggoner album finally in the last couple of days, I can already say that is one I enjoy and should go back to a lot (maybe even an early leader?).
The metal titles seem potentially formidable, with Vektor and Hands of Despair definitely something to be excited about, among some others.
Dream Theater: I just read a couple of actually pretty positive reviews of their new record, which adds something more I suppose.
Cloud Cult's new album and film keeps sounding better and more intriguing.
And then there are the November/December titles, which Falling Up and Mutemath certainly factor into this season's crop. And the SikTh EP/Mini-album as well.
Okay, well this is the 1st part of a 2 or 3 part series of entries about the current and upcoming albums for the year. Of course as I adopted a couple of years ago, the year began November 1st, and so November and December albums are included.
As for this entry, it is the stuff that has come or are scheduled to be released at this point, along with a few that seem highly likely given the information.
The next entry or two though, is where a lot of the blue chips will show up, but of course many may come much later, or of course not even at all. But to say a lot of the names in the next 1 or 2 are on my mind a lot, is accurate (Fjokra and Pepe Deluxe to name just a couple of them).
But as far as the below list/calendar, it does include some strong and optimistic stuff. Having just heard the Brooke Waggoner album finally in the last couple of days, I can already say that is one I enjoy and should go back to a lot (maybe even an early leader?).
The metal titles seem potentially formidable, with Vektor and Hands of Despair definitely something to be excited about, among some others.
Dream Theater: I just read a couple of actually pretty positive reviews of their new record, which adds something more I suppose.
Cloud Cult's new album and film keeps sounding better and more intriguing.
And then there are the November/December titles, which Falling Up and Mutemath certainly factor into this season's crop. And the SikTh EP/Mini-album as well.
My fiancee is a pretty big fan, and I did see him a few years ago with her. And I at least can claim to enjoy both his and some covers of "Wicked Game" (Kaddisfly namely). The reviews for it actually have been decent; although the amount I'll be hearing it largely depends on the fiancee's interest and possibly if he comes back into town and we go to see him.
13: Mutemath – Vitals
Despite a lot of polarizing feelings about this album from longtime fans, I am enjoying this album a lot. It has great energy, like many Mutemath albums. The use of synths I am finding really work well on this album, despite them usurping the guitar presence.
From the wall-of-sound instrumentals "Bulletproof" and the title track, to tracks like "Stratosphere," "Light Up," and "Joyrides," this album is consistently engaging. I even think some of the slower/more ballad-y tracks still work rather well and don't disrupt any flow to this album.
Where it lands come next November/December is unclear, but I can see myself continuing to listen to it over the next year certainly, especially around the time of the concert at First Avenue on April 3rd.
13: Falling Up - Falling Up
The final Falling Up album. Some of the initial details were given in the interview I did with Jessy Ribordy last Summer.
My overall feeling about Falling Up has been, I am a fan of their albums, namely the ones since Fangs from 2009. Although I find Fangs to be my favorite, I do enjoy a lot of the music on Sparkling Death Cometh and the Hours/Midnight on Earthship records, but especially the latter 2 I probably didn't invest enough time to fully get into them. Part of that was due to lack of time, and possibly part of that was how they got released, 1-track at a time, I sort of lost momentum in trying to listen to them.
Blech, cutting-to-the-chase, this album is really bloody good. I'm not exactly sure why I am enjoying it more than even the previous records, but I think it could be given how much time and thought I think may have been put into it. As Jessy explained in that interview:
ALLMR: How does it differ from even the most recent Falling Up records like Hours, Midnight on Earthship and Your Sparkling Death Cometh, and how is it similar?
Jessy: Well I’ve taken a lot more time to write this album than the others. YSDC I wrote in about three weeks ha! This one I took three months to really get the songs the way I wanted them. Not to say that the songs lacked anything on those older records. In fact normally I write better under pressure and in a shorter amount of time. Sometimes when I have too much time I second guess myself way too much. But it was different with this album. Time was a good thing. I needed to be in the space that my life was in at the time to really absorb inspiration. But it’s similar in ways of recording. Since we’ve become independent we’ve lived by the standard of not holding back with our albums. We let the songs be the songs that they are meant to be instead of trying to form them into anything for any other purpose than just being music.
As for tracks, etc the 1st single/video "Into the Woodshop" probably stands as my favorite as it has this great story of sorts it seems to tell. The guitar lines are melancholic and yet beautiful. And the emotion comes across really well in Jessy's vocal delivery.
Other highlights include the opening track "Boone Flyer" and the 2nd epic track "Flora" which each time I listen to it, I notice new things to like. "Hydro" and "The Insect" are a couple other favorites that musically work well, and lyrically, add to the intrigue of the concept/story that it being told with this album, which seems to be about stories about/in a house as Jessy mentioned in the interview.
I guess part of why I may also be enjoying this album so much as it is their final album, and it seems they wanted to go out on a great final note/swan song. The beauty and magic and cinematic element is as great as it's been with any Falling Up album, and much like some of Jessy's other work which I happen to love (The River Empires, The Gloomcatcher). It is kind of bitter-sweet in that sense. And I'm hardly the only one taking notice as on the rateyourmusic page, it is getting rather favorable ratings thus far.
But even though it is their last album, I am really happy it came out so good, and it does have me curious what Jessy and people like Nick Lambert and Josh Shroy will do now. Josh for example, really stands out on this album, probably more than any other record, as his drum work is outstanding. Even how well it is emphasized and mixed. The drums are at times my favorite part of many songs.
I probably will continue with this album from now until next October, and unless something changes, I can't see this not finishing pretty high among my favorites from 2015-2016.
--------------December------------
Despite a lot of polarizing feelings about this album from longtime fans, I am enjoying this album a lot. It has great energy, like many Mutemath albums. The use of synths I am finding really work well on this album, despite them usurping the guitar presence.
From the wall-of-sound instrumentals "Bulletproof" and the title track, to tracks like "Stratosphere," "Light Up," and "Joyrides," this album is consistently engaging. I even think some of the slower/more ballad-y tracks still work rather well and don't disrupt any flow to this album.
Where it lands come next November/December is unclear, but I can see myself continuing to listen to it over the next year certainly, especially around the time of the concert at First Avenue on April 3rd.
The final Falling Up album. Some of the initial details were given in the interview I did with Jessy Ribordy last Summer.
My overall feeling about Falling Up has been, I am a fan of their albums, namely the ones since Fangs from 2009. Although I find Fangs to be my favorite, I do enjoy a lot of the music on Sparkling Death Cometh and the Hours/Midnight on Earthship records, but especially the latter 2 I probably didn't invest enough time to fully get into them. Part of that was due to lack of time, and possibly part of that was how they got released, 1-track at a time, I sort of lost momentum in trying to listen to them.
Blech, cutting-to-the-chase, this album is really bloody good. I'm not exactly sure why I am enjoying it more than even the previous records, but I think it could be given how much time and thought I think may have been put into it. As Jessy explained in that interview:
ALLMR: How does it differ from even the most recent Falling Up records like Hours, Midnight on Earthship and Your Sparkling Death Cometh, and how is it similar?
Jessy: Well I’ve taken a lot more time to write this album than the others. YSDC I wrote in about three weeks ha! This one I took three months to really get the songs the way I wanted them. Not to say that the songs lacked anything on those older records. In fact normally I write better under pressure and in a shorter amount of time. Sometimes when I have too much time I second guess myself way too much. But it was different with this album. Time was a good thing. I needed to be in the space that my life was in at the time to really absorb inspiration. But it’s similar in ways of recording. Since we’ve become independent we’ve lived by the standard of not holding back with our albums. We let the songs be the songs that they are meant to be instead of trying to form them into anything for any other purpose than just being music.
Other highlights include the opening track "Boone Flyer" and the 2nd epic track "Flora" which each time I listen to it, I notice new things to like. "Hydro" and "The Insect" are a couple other favorites that musically work well, and lyrically, add to the intrigue of the concept/story that it being told with this album, which seems to be about stories about/in a house as Jessy mentioned in the interview.
I guess part of why I may also be enjoying this album so much as it is their final album, and it seems they wanted to go out on a great final note/swan song. The beauty and magic and cinematic element is as great as it's been with any Falling Up album, and much like some of Jessy's other work which I happen to love (The River Empires, The Gloomcatcher). It is kind of bitter-sweet in that sense. And I'm hardly the only one taking notice as on the rateyourmusic page, it is getting rather favorable ratings thus far.
But even though it is their last album, I am really happy it came out so good, and it does have me curious what Jessy and people like Nick Lambert and Josh Shroy will do now. Josh for example, really stands out on this album, probably more than any other record, as his drum work is outstanding. Even how well it is emphasized and mixed. The drums are at times my favorite part of many songs.
I probably will continue with this album from now until next October, and unless something changes, I can't see this not finishing pretty high among my favorites from 2015-2016.
--------------December------------
The first SikTh release since 2006's Death of a Dead Day. And of course the 1st since they broke up in 2008? and then reformed a couple of years ago to play live.
I do enjoy a lot of this, as I am SikTh fan, and a fan of their chaotic, theatrical and technical style of Prog Metal.
"Walking Shadows" is the stand out track early-on, and it also doesn't seem to have any of the clipping cymbal mix that is on other parts of this Mini-Album.
But the compositions are certainly on par with their older work. the djent moments come, but I guess I'm not bothered by them, as much as other more recent bands. And the spoken sections still add charm but don't seem too excessive.
SikTh are back finally, and there isn't another band doing this kind of music like them (or as good as them, although I suppose I would love for uneXpect to comeback at some point and compare).
Debut solo record from Warpaint's bassist/vocalist. I honestly only checked out about 1/2 of this album, and the jury is still very much out about it. I guess the mellow/moody vibe still seems to be apparent in the writing, which does remind me more of the last Warpaint record from 2014, which overall I didn't love .
But given how little I've heard of this still, and it's her own project, rather than what Warpaint are doing collectively, my expectations aren't as high.
The 1st single, which was the title track, just remembering, I did enjoy. But not to the point of addiction. I am a David Bowie fan, but not massive; so while I will be checking this out, I don't have huge expectations for it, but if it surprises me, I won't be surprised, lol.
It also only includes 7 tracks, and just glancing on rym, it is being rated rather highly right now. Sleeper?
The 1st 2 singles "Widow Maker" and "Ovenbird" are both really good, and sound like Brooke may be using more orchestral elements on this album, maybe more than on her last record Originator from 2013.
Although regardless, all of Brooke's records have been really good, so I honestly almost expect to love this thing, and hopefully soon since January 15th is right around the corner.
edit: Stream it in Full here
Thumbs up on "Pennies and Youth"..reminds me a bit of Go Easy Little Doves.
The whole thing, not surprisingly, has impressed me a ton.
The next release which per the title, is like a Half-Release or an EP, etc. Although rym shows it as a full-length. It is 37 minutes of music I guess, for what that's worth.
It includes "Don't Hate Me" which from memory, is a Porcupine Tree track from Stupid Dream. I am assuming the version on this album will be different, re-arranged, etc.
It also includes the opening 9+ minute "My Book of Regrets" which I think is the track that was played at many shows on the tour of the US I saw last Spring (in Minneapolis), but it wasn't named at that point.
Looking forward to this, although given it is only 6 tracks, 5 new original/ etc I suppose my hopes aren't as high as they would be for his next full-length. Then again, I find Nil Recurring to be one of the best Porcupine Tree records.
Atmospheric psych/rock band from Canada who are still around. They released something a year or 2 ago which kind of put me to sleep, but I can't deny, I loved the 1 show saw them. I'll check this one out certainly, but even if I don't go apeshit over it, I probably will continue to look at their best heard in concert where their trippy-ness comes out best.
34 track, and a double Concept album. And the band are to perform the whole thing live next Spring.
And the concept is so overtly-fantasy Game-of-Thrones/Dungeons and Dragons/Lord of the Rings like, at least just based on the track titles, I think I'm hardly alone in just expecting an all-out cheesy nerdfest.
That being said, I am a lifer Dream Theater fan, and will always pay attention to what they make, even with their approach to songwriting/composition in recent years.
This at least has them trying something different, with the big concept and another double-record, their 1st since Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence from 2002.
I guess I don't expect to get attached to this record, but if I somehow enjoy more than half of it, I'll be pleasantly surprised. I guess it wouldn't even surprise me if I and many other fans love it or just forget about it. Which from a time standpoint, is kind of a win-win situation.
----------------February--------------
5: Obscura - Akroasis
One of the better technical death metal bands returns with their 1st album since 2011's Omnivium. I do enjoy them, but can't say I love them like some other bands. They do at times sound a fair amount like early Cynic, which is a plus. But I can't forget, how I love Necrophagist, and this band along with Hannes Grossman's solo work has kind of killed the chances of more music coming from Necrophagist. I.e. I kind of see Obscura as the next best thing if Necrophagist never comes back.
5: Field Music - Commontime
I certainly will check this out, from this british group who some compare to XTC. I seem to recall enjoying their record their 2010 record Measure, more than Plumb, the follow-up in 2012. Although just scanning their rym, they made music for a film titled Music For Drifters in 2015, so that may be worth checking out as well.
5: Textures - Phenotype
Another record from Textures, which I know they sort of moved the whole Djent thing along before Periphery sort of mainstreamed it. 2011's Dualism I rated at 2.5 stars, whereas their previous 2 albums I have at 3.5. But their last record was 5 years ago, so the break in time may help. Definitely an album I will check out.
12: Cloud Cult - The Seeker
The cover art I'm using is just for the 1st single "No Hell" (and I should edit/replace it when the official cover comes).
Another Cloud Cult album, which I am certainly excited about, as they have yet to put out a poor record, and especially Feel Good Ghosts in 2008, I've enjoyed their music more and more. Love, from 2013 though I did enjoy, not as much as the previous two.
But where this album seems to be different or have more/different potential is the approach. It not only is an album, likely a concept album, but it goes along with a film of the same name. But not apparently a film with any actual heard dialogue, but I guess the album/music is synchronized to.
Quite ambitious idea. Also having Cloud Cult Superfan and How I Met Your Mother/Independent Film Actor/Screenwriter Josh Radnor involved, as he does play a part in the movie.
But the 3 or 4? tracks (No Hell, Through the Ages, No Hell just from memory) I've heard thus far are all quite good, and sound like Cloud Cult. I suppose the big thing musically is how varied or different the album will seem compared to their others. I recall 1 or 2 clips being mostly instrumental, and given it's used for the movie, there may be more all-instrumental or longer instrumental-features.
15: Hands of Despair - BereftAnd the concept is so overtly-fantasy Game-of-Thrones/Dungeons and Dragons/Lord of the Rings like, at least just based on the track titles, I think I'm hardly alone in just expecting an all-out cheesy nerdfest.
That being said, I am a lifer Dream Theater fan, and will always pay attention to what they make, even with their approach to songwriting/composition in recent years.
This at least has them trying something different, with the big concept and another double-record, their 1st since Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence from 2002.
I guess I don't expect to get attached to this record, but if I somehow enjoy more than half of it, I'll be pleasantly surprised. I guess it wouldn't even surprise me if I and many other fans love it or just forget about it. Which from a time standpoint, is kind of a win-win situation.
----------------February--------------
One of the better technical death metal bands returns with their 1st album since 2011's Omnivium. I do enjoy them, but can't say I love them like some other bands. They do at times sound a fair amount like early Cynic, which is a plus. But I can't forget, how I love Necrophagist, and this band along with Hannes Grossman's solo work has kind of killed the chances of more music coming from Necrophagist. I.e. I kind of see Obscura as the next best thing if Necrophagist never comes back.
I certainly will check this out, from this british group who some compare to XTC. I seem to recall enjoying their record their 2010 record Measure, more than Plumb, the follow-up in 2012. Although just scanning their rym, they made music for a film titled Music For Drifters in 2015, so that may be worth checking out as well.
5: Textures - Phenotype
Another record from Textures, which I know they sort of moved the whole Djent thing along before Periphery sort of mainstreamed it. 2011's Dualism I rated at 2.5 stars, whereas their previous 2 albums I have at 3.5. But their last record was 5 years ago, so the break in time may help. Definitely an album I will check out.
12: Cloud Cult - The Seeker
The cover art I'm using is just for the 1st single "No Hell" (and I should edit/replace it when the official cover comes).
Another Cloud Cult album, which I am certainly excited about, as they have yet to put out a poor record, and especially Feel Good Ghosts in 2008, I've enjoyed their music more and more. Love, from 2013 though I did enjoy, not as much as the previous two.
But where this album seems to be different or have more/different potential is the approach. It not only is an album, likely a concept album, but it goes along with a film of the same name. But not apparently a film with any actual heard dialogue, but I guess the album/music is synchronized to.
Quite ambitious idea. Also having Cloud Cult Superfan and How I Met Your Mother/Independent Film Actor/Screenwriter Josh Radnor involved, as he does play a part in the movie.
But the 3 or 4? tracks (No Hell, Through the Ages, No Hell just from memory) I've heard thus far are all quite good, and sound like Cloud Cult. I suppose the big thing musically is how varied or different the album will seem compared to their others. I recall 1 or 2 clips being mostly instrumental, and given it's used for the movie, there may be more all-instrumental or longer instrumental-features.
Hands of Despair I recall getting introduced towards the end of 2011 and their album Hereafter. That album featured a ton of bone crushing riffs, extremely clear production; plus a very well thought-out and executed blend harsh and clean vocals.
Progressive Death Metal of a kind, that really worked on many levels, that it's sad that they are still unknown, even among the progressive and death metal communities I see online.
And the 1st single "Sleeper" is 9 minutes of a lot of the same. if the rest of the record is like this, I can definitely foresee listening to this record a lot this year.
-------------March-------------
4: Tiles - Pretending to Run
I used to be a pretty big fan of this Michigan-based prog rock band, who definitely were big fans of Rush. Namely with their 1st 3 albums, the 1994 Self-Titled debut, Fence the Clear and 1999's Presents of Mind.
The other stuff they've done since, I never got too into, despite some impressive guest musicians from memory (Ian Anderson, Alex Lifeson).
The list of guests is maybe more expansive on this one:
Pretending to Run was produced by Terry Brown (Rush, Fates Warning) and features a remarkable collection of guest musicians including Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull), Mike Portnoy (Flying Colors, Winery Dogs, ex-Dream Theater), Adam Holzman (Steven Wilson Band), Mike Stern (Miles Davis), Kim Mitchell (Max Webster), Colin Edwin (Porcupine Tree), Kevin Chown (Tarja Turunen, Chad Smith), Matthew Parmenter (Discipline), Mark Mikel (Pillbugs), Joe Deninzon, Max Portnoy (Next To None) and many others.
And I guess this is a Double Concept album, that the band spent quite awhile making, which adds some to the curiosity about it. Although I remember seeing a comment about how given Dream Theater are also making a double concept album, that's being released not too long before this, it may steal some of Pretending to Run's thunder, at least in the progressive rock communities. I guess we'll see.
4: Ihsahn - Arktis
I reall enjoyed a lot of 2010's After. The blend of Black Metal and featured saxophone really seemed unique. The follow-up 2012's Eremita, I honestly only recall liking some moments, but still struggling with. And Ihsahn's most recent record, 2013's Das Seelenbrechen, I don';t recall even knowing about, let alone hearing. Rateyourmusic.com doesn't give it a bad rating, but it's not scored as high as the previous 2.
11: Vektor - Terminal Redux
2011's Outer Isolation is an awesome record. Pretty much a go-to for modern Thrash Metal for myself, per it's technical and progressive tendencies. Plus like the previous Vektor record, Black Future, has this infectious amount of energy.
Why I am extremely excited to get to hear a new record from these guys. And finally get to see them live for the 1st time with Voivod next month in St.Paul, MN.
The 1st single is below, and hopefully is just a taste of what's to come. 2016 very well may be a huge year for these guys.
2011's Outer Isolation is an awesome record. Pretty much a go-to for modern Thrash Metal for myself, per it's technical and progressive tendencies. Plus like the previous Vektor record, Black Future, has this infectious amount of energy.
Why I am extremely excited to get to hear a new record from these guys. And finally get to see them live for the 1st time with Voivod next month in St.Paul, MN.
The 1st single is below, and hopefully is just a taste of what's to come. 2016 very well may be a huge year for these guys.
25: White Denim - Stuff
I have enjoyed a good amount of the music from White Denim, ever since being introduced to them back in 2011 or 2012 when they were on the same tour with The Dear Hunter and Manchester Orchestra.
They have this fun style of almost progressive jam-band or progressive blues rock, reminiscent of The Allman Brothers or even Umphrey's McGee in some ways.
Their last album Corsicana Lemonade from 2013, I did enjoy, although it was kind of late as I remember not checking it out very late in the year, or even early in 2014.
The previous LP D, from 2011 I remember being pretty addicted to.
As for this album, the cover are is quite odd, but the 1st single at least doesn't seem vastly different for White Denim, but that also could be a good thing.
-----------------April-------------
22: dredg - Catch Without Arms (Vinyl)
A favorite band of mine, and certainly one of my favorites. I already preordered it of course. It looks pristine and highly colorful.
Radical Face - The Family Tree III: Leaves
From some of the updates on Facebook, this album could have come out last Fall, but Radical Face released The Bastards album instead, and Ben Cooper decided to wait until early in 2016 to release this.
I love a lot of Radical Face's music, with the cinematic style of folk-rock. I haven't really felt anything they've released has been bad. The Family Tree series included. And this concept/series may be the final part, from memory when it was introduced a few years ago, which adds even more to the anticipation for this one.
From some of the updates on Facebook, this album could have come out last Fall, but Radical Face released The Bastards album instead, and Ben Cooper decided to wait until early in 2016 to release this.
I love a lot of Radical Face's music, with the cinematic style of folk-rock. I haven't really felt anything they've released has been bad. The Family Tree series included. And this concept/series may be the final part, from memory when it was introduced a few years ago, which adds even more to the anticipation for this one.
Klimt 1918 – Die Sentimentale Jugend
The Woods Brothers - The Woods Brothers
This is the long-worked on debut record of these 2 brothers from Southern California. The 1st 2 shared songs are really good, namely "Terra Firma" which features Casey Crescenzo of The Dear Hunter on vocals. Casey did a lot of work with them on this record, including producing. As well, members of some other bands, including The Fall of Troy, also make appearances.
Definitely a record to look forward to. which given a lot of the details shared in the last 9 months, it may be released early in the year.
Klimt 1918-Twitter
No certainty when this album does come out, but they have been posting on Social Media a lot over the last 2 years about writing and recording, including I recall last Summer and Fall.
It's been nearly 8 years since 2008's Just In Case We Never Meet Again (Soundtrack for the Cassette Generation), so the timing of when this does finally drop just seems unclear, year after year. But given their Social media presence and the fact they did recording recently, seems to support it'll finally be coming relatively soon.
I hope so, as I really love a lot this Italian college-prog/post-rock band's music, especially 2005's Dopoguerra.
No certainty when this album does come out, but they have been posting on Social Media a lot over the last 2 years about writing and recording, including I recall last Summer and Fall.
It's been nearly 8 years since 2008's Just In Case We Never Meet Again (Soundtrack for the Cassette Generation), so the timing of when this does finally drop just seems unclear, year after year. But given their Social media presence and the fact they did recording recently, seems to support it'll finally be coming relatively soon.
I hope so, as I really love a lot this Italian college-prog/post-rock band's music, especially 2005's Dopoguerra.
This is the long-worked on debut record of these 2 brothers from Southern California. The 1st 2 shared songs are really good, namely "Terra Firma" which features Casey Crescenzo of The Dear Hunter on vocals. Casey did a lot of work with them on this record, including producing. As well, members of some other bands, including The Fall of Troy, also make appearances.
Definitely a record to look forward to. which given a lot of the details shared in the last 9 months, it may be released early in the year.
Sunday, December 13, 2015
Falling Up - In the Woodshop [Official Video]
Great tune, and nice video. The ending kind of references Excalibur and King Arthur I suppose, but in a neat way. That and sort of Where the Wild Things Are or Chronicles of Narnia in the whole wandering off into a portal or wormhole in the woods, etc.
But that very much fits a lot of what Falling Up and Jessy Ribordy is about at times.
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Falling Up - Falling Up (2015-2016)
11/11/15 6:35AM
There's the track list below. Preorders from the Kickstarter received a download on Sunday, and I've been listening to this record a lot this week. I'm really enjoying a lot of it, probably more than I expected. I can tell Jessy and the band did put a lot of time and thought into it, as I can hear the emotion sprawling out of many of the songs.
Early favorites: Boone Flyer, In the Woodshop, the last couple of minutes of Hydro, The Insect and some others.
Early 2015-2016 leader? could be along with Mutemath perhaps..
1 .Boone Flyer 5:51
2 . Flora 7:08
3 . The Green Rider 5:53
4. Hydro 4:49
5. The Woodworker 5:13
6. Wild Bird 5:35
7. Typhoon 4:13
8. In The Woodshop 3:02
9. Rangers 6:20
10. Up In Houses 3:18
11. The Insect 3:52
12. Flares 6:28
11/7/15 11:04AM
http://fallinguplives.com/
http://fallingup.bandcamp.com/
This Self-Titled album, the final Falling Up album, is being released next Friday November 13th. You can preorder it now at the links above. Track list, and some thoughts to follow.
For now, the 1st single "In the Woodshop" is both below per YouTube and on their website linked above.
There's the track list below. Preorders from the Kickstarter received a download on Sunday, and I've been listening to this record a lot this week. I'm really enjoying a lot of it, probably more than I expected. I can tell Jessy and the band did put a lot of time and thought into it, as I can hear the emotion sprawling out of many of the songs.
Early favorites: Boone Flyer, In the Woodshop, the last couple of minutes of Hydro, The Insect and some others.
Early 2015-2016 leader? could be along with Mutemath perhaps..
1 .Boone Flyer 5:51
2 . Flora 7:08
3 . The Green Rider 5:53
4. Hydro 4:49
5. The Woodworker 5:13
6. Wild Bird 5:35
7. Typhoon 4:13
8. In The Woodshop 3:02
9. Rangers 6:20
10. Up In Houses 3:18
11. The Insect 3:52
12. Flares 6:28
11/7/15 11:04AM
http://fallinguplives.com/
http://fallingup.bandcamp.com/
This Self-Titled album, the final Falling Up album, is being released next Friday November 13th. You can preorder it now at the links above. Track list, and some thoughts to follow.
For now, the 1st single "In the Woodshop" is both below per YouTube and on their website linked above.
Thursday, July 9, 2015
Falling Up documentary (from 2011)
Falling Up Documentary from caleb thomas on Vimeo.
I noticed this shared on the Falling Up Fans Group the other day on Facebook, and I don't recall having seen it previously.
It's a good documentary, and pretty thorough. It is just Jessy talking, but there's a lot of good history, photos, etc about the Falling Up story, up to the release of their 2011 record Your Sparkling Death Cometh.
The interview with Jessy and the new EP along with the upcoming album has kind of rekindled my interest and time with Falling Up of late, and this documentary also added to that.
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
My Interview with Jessy Ribordy about Falling Up's upcoming new Album (2015)
Here's the interview I just conducted via email with Jessy Ribordy about the upcoming Falling Up album. Some nice info about it stylistically and conceptually, how it compares to the rest of the Falling Up records, etc. I must admit, from Jessy's description, I am rather curious how it could be a blend of their more recent heavily layered records, and the more raw work of their further past.
Also of course this upcoming album will in fact be the last Falling Up album; why that is and how it is both similar and different in approach from even the more recent releases. The fact Jessy and the band are spending the extra amount of time in perfecting it has me intrigued per I often find when a lot of time and thought is made with something, it often does show in the quality.
I of course plan to post more specifics about this album when it is made available. And I have embedded the new House Full of Caverns EP below which is available to download. I also have some other stuff to share soon, namely a documentary about Falling Up I saw posted on Facebook the other day with Jessy. And some stuff about interviews, doing them, etc (why I have not really done them in the past? and doing more in the future, among other thoughts about them that are related).
But here's the interview below, and as I also posted below, I want to thank Jessy Ribordy and Nick Lambert again for allowing me to do this interview.
AllMR:
Jessy,
First off, I want to thank you and Nick for getting in touch with me as I have been a big fan of yours (Falling Up and your other projects too like The River Empires, The Gloomcatcher and Northern Abbey). I try and do everything I can to help support and promote them
Please tell me about this upcoming album from Falling Up: When is it anticipated to be released?
Jessy: During the Fall. We don’t have a specific date yet, but the goal is during the Fall. Originally we were hoping for Summer but we’re just really trying to get this thing perfect.
ALLMR: Is there a title (maybe even a working title?) or even a theme that you could share about the album?
Jessy: It’s most likely going to be self-titled, since this whole thing kind of represents all that our journey as a band has led up to. The entire theme is a secret as of now, but I can mention a major element within the album a few questions down!
ALLMR: What format will it be released on? Digital, CD and Vinyl? and if it does get released on Vinyl, might that influence the chance of some of the previous Falling Up albums to be released on Vinyl as well? (Fangs would be one I would personally love to own on Vinyl)
Jessy: Digital and CD for sure. We are printing Vinyls for Kickstarter, and hope to print another order just to sell in general. They are just so spendy! But yes, hopefully we can get the new record printed to Vinyl. And I’d really love Hours and YSDC too. Fangs would be rad except it’s difficult to get the master from our old label. If everyone came together and bugged them though I’m sure we could get the master to print!
ALLMR: How does it differ from even the most recent Falling Up records like Hours, Midnight on Earthship and Your Sparkling Death Cometh, and how is it similar?
Jessy: Well I’ve taken a lot more time to write this album than the others. YSDC I wrote in about three weeks ha! This one I took three months to really get the songs the way I wanted them. Not to say that the songs lacked anything on those older records. In fact normally I write better under pressure and in a shorter amount of time. Sometimes when I have too much time I second guess myself way too much. But it was different with this album. Time was a good thing. I needed to be in the space that my life was in at the time to really absorb inspiration. But it’s similar in ways of recording. Since we’ve become independent we’ve lived by the standard of not holding back with our albums. We let the songs be the songs that they are meant to be instead of trying to form them into anything for any other purpose than just being music.
ALLMR: Is there a lot of use of synthesizers and layers?
Jessy: Layers yes, synths are a little more sparse this time around. There is programming on this album but we’ve sampled a lot of organic layers and have been manipulating them with fx; basically making our own synths. And there are more pianos on this album. But that’s not to say there are more soft songs. Most of the heavier tracks have piano in them. I’m also still in the middle of keys/synths so there could be a lot more than I’m thinking by the end of it ha!
ALLMR: Is it, or could it be considered a concept album? If so, what about?
Jessy: Alright so here we go— yes and no. I’ve realized that pretty much every album we’ve done is a concept album. Fangs was the only one self proclaimed as a concept and Hours was the only one based off an actual story I penned. But with all that being said, I feel that concepts are just kind a part of what we do. Most other bands will do regular records and then have one concept album that sticks out. Since concept has a been the major role in all albums, I can’t really say this a concept album, it’s just a Falling Up album, and it comes with the territory. That’s another reason we are excited about having this album as our last. It really does show everyone who we’ve truly been this whole time. We are Falling Up; we don’t write songs, we write musical stories. And with that being said I’ll mention a fun thing about this new album that I promised a few questions above— the whole album takes place inside a house.
ALLMR: Does the new album have any influence from your recently published writing (Hours?)
Jessy: Influence with certain parts of the universe that Hours is set in, yes. But as far as the story, no. The story of this album is very different than anything I’ve written in our other albums. I hesitated with this story at first because I was hoping to tie together everything, so that Fangs was completed and Hours was completed, but it’s too special for that. I wanted to open up a world and then leave all of you there at the beginning of it as we leave it. This album shows all of you through the doorway (literally and metaphorically) while we exit.
ALLMR: It sounds like there was a lot of music written and recorded for this album (per the extra Pre-Album EP House Full of Caverns), how long is the album? How many songs do you anticipate to be included?
Jessy: So far it’s looking like 12 tracks, but there will probably be closer to 14 with transitions and what not. Once I’m in the creative atmosphere I usually just go for it and it’s hard to stop ha.
ALLMR: As for the House Full of Caverns EP, it is an almost all-instrumental EP, with a lot of chamber-music kinds of instrumentation from what I can tell. Does the upcoming full-length album have much of that?
Jessy: There are many transitions on the new album that have some flavor of House Full of Caverns, but I think to a lot of people’s surprise, there will be just a lot more whole tracks than even YSDC. It’s hard to explain but we have been playing with a new approach of doing an album chronologically rather than transitioning throughout the songs like YSDC. I always hesitate to describe the instrumentation because it changes as the recording process progresses, especially near the end. But so far we have been trying to keep things pretty “band” oriented— guitar, bass, drums, vocals and piano. Trying to touch back into our garage roots.
ALLMR: The music on House Full of Caverns EP sounds like it could be on a soundtrack to something. Was there anything cinematic in mind with it and with some of the music on the new full-length album?
Jessy: I can’t say for the new album yet! But yes with the EP. I wrote a little story that will most likely be published per the kickstarter short story reward tier and it’s what the EP revolves around. It has a lot to do with blanket forts. Sounds silly, I know, but it’s neat. There are two characters in House Full of Caverns, Aron is one of them. When he arrives at the house, he rides in on the wind. I know that’s all very ambiguous but it will be revealed a bit later. Not with the new album though— thematically and conceptually the EP and LP are completely there own things. I guess the only common trait is that there is a house in both. But the house in the LP is cooler than the one in the EP.
ALLMR: Does Falling Up look to tour to support the new album, and if so, where may the tours come? I live in Minnesota and would love to see Falling Up play live sometime, so I guess I'm biased to hope for a concert in Minnesota or somewhere in the Upper Midwest if possible.
Jessy: We are planning to play around Portland a lot. I would love to do a national tour again, one last time, we just need to find the right amount of support to do it. Even if we tagged onto another tour that was happening, that’d be rad. Even if we could only play three or four tracks a night off this new album, it’d be worth it! We will see I suppose, like I said, we would absolutely love to but have no plans as of now. We will be doing some UStream shows though online. I think those will be pretty neat.
ALLMR: It has been mentioned on Social Media and with the successful Kickstarter Campaign, this will in fact be the final Falling Up album. If you feel it's okay to explain anything about that, what are the reasons for it being the last Falling Up album? Is it for artistic reasons, i.e the members of Falling Up just find they want to focus on other kinds of music now? Or could it be for time, money, family purposes?
Jessy: Well for the past four or five years, the band has become more of a side thing in everyone’s lives. Wives, kids, careers, etc., became the priorities. And I’ve been ready to write and record some music separately from Falling Up for a long period of time. I think I’ve just felt like I needed to be able to end one chapter in order to start a new one completely. I’ve always been the type of person who focuses on something completely and I can’t feel happy about it if it’s not 100%. I’ve been doing 100% Falling Up for over ten years and I just recently realized I wanted to focus that energy on something different. Even with The River Empires and The Gloomcatcher, they weren’t projects that I was able to really focus on. Falling Up was still my priority, and everything else sort of fell behind it. But I’m ready to end it. I’m really excited to have people experience a new musical project that I will be putting just as much attention into, if not more, than I did with Falling Up.
ALLMR: Thanks again and have a great 4th of July weekend and Summer!
http://fallinguplives.com/
https://www.facebook.com/fallingup
https://twitter.com/fallingupband
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fallingup/new-album-1
Also of course this upcoming album will in fact be the last Falling Up album; why that is and how it is both similar and different in approach from even the more recent releases. The fact Jessy and the band are spending the extra amount of time in perfecting it has me intrigued per I often find when a lot of time and thought is made with something, it often does show in the quality.
I of course plan to post more specifics about this album when it is made available. And I have embedded the new House Full of Caverns EP below which is available to download. I also have some other stuff to share soon, namely a documentary about Falling Up I saw posted on Facebook the other day with Jessy. And some stuff about interviews, doing them, etc (why I have not really done them in the past? and doing more in the future, among other thoughts about them that are related).
But here's the interview below, and as I also posted below, I want to thank Jessy Ribordy and Nick Lambert again for allowing me to do this interview.
AllMR:
Jessy,
First off, I want to thank you and Nick for getting in touch with me as I have been a big fan of yours (Falling Up and your other projects too like The River Empires, The Gloomcatcher and Northern Abbey). I try and do everything I can to help support and promote them
Please tell me about this upcoming album from Falling Up: When is it anticipated to be released?
Jessy: During the Fall. We don’t have a specific date yet, but the goal is during the Fall. Originally we were hoping for Summer but we’re just really trying to get this thing perfect.
ALLMR: Is there a title (maybe even a working title?) or even a theme that you could share about the album?
Jessy: It’s most likely going to be self-titled, since this whole thing kind of represents all that our journey as a band has led up to. The entire theme is a secret as of now, but I can mention a major element within the album a few questions down!
ALLMR: What format will it be released on? Digital, CD and Vinyl? and if it does get released on Vinyl, might that influence the chance of some of the previous Falling Up albums to be released on Vinyl as well? (Fangs would be one I would personally love to own on Vinyl)
Jessy: Digital and CD for sure. We are printing Vinyls for Kickstarter, and hope to print another order just to sell in general. They are just so spendy! But yes, hopefully we can get the new record printed to Vinyl. And I’d really love Hours and YSDC too. Fangs would be rad except it’s difficult to get the master from our old label. If everyone came together and bugged them though I’m sure we could get the master to print!
ALLMR: How does it differ from even the most recent Falling Up records like Hours, Midnight on Earthship and Your Sparkling Death Cometh, and how is it similar?
Jessy: Well I’ve taken a lot more time to write this album than the others. YSDC I wrote in about three weeks ha! This one I took three months to really get the songs the way I wanted them. Not to say that the songs lacked anything on those older records. In fact normally I write better under pressure and in a shorter amount of time. Sometimes when I have too much time I second guess myself way too much. But it was different with this album. Time was a good thing. I needed to be in the space that my life was in at the time to really absorb inspiration. But it’s similar in ways of recording. Since we’ve become independent we’ve lived by the standard of not holding back with our albums. We let the songs be the songs that they are meant to be instead of trying to form them into anything for any other purpose than just being music.
ALLMR: Is there a lot of use of synthesizers and layers?
Jessy: Layers yes, synths are a little more sparse this time around. There is programming on this album but we’ve sampled a lot of organic layers and have been manipulating them with fx; basically making our own synths. And there are more pianos on this album. But that’s not to say there are more soft songs. Most of the heavier tracks have piano in them. I’m also still in the middle of keys/synths so there could be a lot more than I’m thinking by the end of it ha!
ALLMR: Is it, or could it be considered a concept album? If so, what about?
Jessy: Alright so here we go— yes and no. I’ve realized that pretty much every album we’ve done is a concept album. Fangs was the only one self proclaimed as a concept and Hours was the only one based off an actual story I penned. But with all that being said, I feel that concepts are just kind a part of what we do. Most other bands will do regular records and then have one concept album that sticks out. Since concept has a been the major role in all albums, I can’t really say this a concept album, it’s just a Falling Up album, and it comes with the territory. That’s another reason we are excited about having this album as our last. It really does show everyone who we’ve truly been this whole time. We are Falling Up; we don’t write songs, we write musical stories. And with that being said I’ll mention a fun thing about this new album that I promised a few questions above— the whole album takes place inside a house.
ALLMR: Does the new album have any influence from your recently published writing (Hours?)
Jessy: Influence with certain parts of the universe that Hours is set in, yes. But as far as the story, no. The story of this album is very different than anything I’ve written in our other albums. I hesitated with this story at first because I was hoping to tie together everything, so that Fangs was completed and Hours was completed, but it’s too special for that. I wanted to open up a world and then leave all of you there at the beginning of it as we leave it. This album shows all of you through the doorway (literally and metaphorically) while we exit.
ALLMR: It sounds like there was a lot of music written and recorded for this album (per the extra Pre-Album EP House Full of Caverns), how long is the album? How many songs do you anticipate to be included?
Jessy: So far it’s looking like 12 tracks, but there will probably be closer to 14 with transitions and what not. Once I’m in the creative atmosphere I usually just go for it and it’s hard to stop ha.
ALLMR: As for the House Full of Caverns EP, it is an almost all-instrumental EP, with a lot of chamber-music kinds of instrumentation from what I can tell. Does the upcoming full-length album have much of that?
Jessy: There are many transitions on the new album that have some flavor of House Full of Caverns, but I think to a lot of people’s surprise, there will be just a lot more whole tracks than even YSDC. It’s hard to explain but we have been playing with a new approach of doing an album chronologically rather than transitioning throughout the songs like YSDC. I always hesitate to describe the instrumentation because it changes as the recording process progresses, especially near the end. But so far we have been trying to keep things pretty “band” oriented— guitar, bass, drums, vocals and piano. Trying to touch back into our garage roots.
ALLMR: The music on House Full of Caverns EP sounds like it could be on a soundtrack to something. Was there anything cinematic in mind with it and with some of the music on the new full-length album?
Jessy: I can’t say for the new album yet! But yes with the EP. I wrote a little story that will most likely be published per the kickstarter short story reward tier and it’s what the EP revolves around. It has a lot to do with blanket forts. Sounds silly, I know, but it’s neat. There are two characters in House Full of Caverns, Aron is one of them. When he arrives at the house, he rides in on the wind. I know that’s all very ambiguous but it will be revealed a bit later. Not with the new album though— thematically and conceptually the EP and LP are completely there own things. I guess the only common trait is that there is a house in both. But the house in the LP is cooler than the one in the EP.
ALLMR: Does Falling Up look to tour to support the new album, and if so, where may the tours come? I live in Minnesota and would love to see Falling Up play live sometime, so I guess I'm biased to hope for a concert in Minnesota or somewhere in the Upper Midwest if possible.
Jessy: We are planning to play around Portland a lot. I would love to do a national tour again, one last time, we just need to find the right amount of support to do it. Even if we tagged onto another tour that was happening, that’d be rad. Even if we could only play three or four tracks a night off this new album, it’d be worth it! We will see I suppose, like I said, we would absolutely love to but have no plans as of now. We will be doing some UStream shows though online. I think those will be pretty neat.
ALLMR: It has been mentioned on Social Media and with the successful Kickstarter Campaign, this will in fact be the final Falling Up album. If you feel it's okay to explain anything about that, what are the reasons for it being the last Falling Up album? Is it for artistic reasons, i.e the members of Falling Up just find they want to focus on other kinds of music now? Or could it be for time, money, family purposes?
Jessy: Well for the past four or five years, the band has become more of a side thing in everyone’s lives. Wives, kids, careers, etc., became the priorities. And I’ve been ready to write and record some music separately from Falling Up for a long period of time. I think I’ve just felt like I needed to be able to end one chapter in order to start a new one completely. I’ve always been the type of person who focuses on something completely and I can’t feel happy about it if it’s not 100%. I’ve been doing 100% Falling Up for over ten years and I just recently realized I wanted to focus that energy on something different. Even with The River Empires and The Gloomcatcher, they weren’t projects that I was able to really focus on. Falling Up was still my priority, and everything else sort of fell behind it. But I’m ready to end it. I’m really excited to have people experience a new musical project that I will be putting just as much attention into, if not more, than I did with Falling Up.
ALLMR: Thanks again and have a great 4th of July weekend and Summer!
http://fallinguplives.com/
https://www.facebook.com/fallingup
https://twitter.com/fallingupband
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fallingup/new-album-1
Thursday, January 8, 2015
Mountain Machine Collection (Nick Lambert of Northern Abbey/Falling Up)
This was released nearly 2 years ago I guess from Nick Lambert of Northern Abbey, and it's just 4 tracks from music I think is used in his project/application for games called "Mountain Machine."
It, like Northern Abbey, is really sublime, cinematic stuff. Kind of reminds me of some of the Nordic Giants stuff I've been so into of late.
Anyway, I'm not sure to what extent the music from this app/game etc will continue to be released, but if anymore like this comes, I certainly am interested to check it out.
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It, like Northern Abbey, is really sublime, cinematic stuff. Kind of reminds me of some of the Nordic Giants stuff I've been so into of late.
Anyway, I'm not sure to what extent the music from this app/game etc will continue to be released, but if anymore like this comes, I certainly am interested to check it out.
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Northern Abbey - The Sounds of Glowing [EP] (2013)
1. Portrait 04:59
2. The Trail 02:38
3. A Lonesome Road 03:10
4. Glowing 05:02
5. Of Lights 02:58
6. The Several Seas (Bonus Track) 02:34
Wow, this sort of came out of nowhere! Although, given I got in touch with Nick Lambert after my end-of-year blurb from last year in here, and he mentioned there was more music coming soon, this shouldn't come as too much of a surprise.
But as the link shows, he plays and writes more or less all of it. Jessy Ribordy of The River Empires and Nick's bandmate in Falling Up, it shows produced and mixed it along with writing a string arrangement on "Portrait," the opening track.
But I really loved the 1st/debut EP from last year from Northern Abbey. So, this is really cool to see this now become available. The artwork is a little puzzling, being sort of a faded/cloudy white/gray, but I imagine there's a good reason for that.
Monday, July 16, 2012
Jessy Calvin Ribordy - Hours [Audio Literature, The River Empires]
I know this may not be for everyone, or even those who love The River Empires, Falling Up, The Gloomcatcher, etc. And as Jessy's post states, it is just something he's doing, that is not impacting the progress of the next The River Empires record.
Why I say that, is I'm sure this is something to allow him to not feel so pressured to get The River Empires record done. I just imagine it to be more of a pleasant diversion, only to re-inspire without overdoing or overthinking everything.
This story Hours, is kind of intriguing, about an adolescent boy whose a student at a boarding school of some sort, that has found himself being led into a mystery of sorts involving a gymnasium.
Facebook post
Okay, I know this may be overwhelming as far as projects go. But I assure all of you, the new album is coming along very nicely and will be out relatively soon. In the meantime, I just can't help myself in letting you guys and gals know about a new little project of mine called Hours. It's an audio novel, releasing chapter by chapter. First chapter is up and downloadable if you are interested! http://hoursthestory.bandcamp.com
Why I say that, is I'm sure this is something to allow him to not feel so pressured to get The River Empires record done. I just imagine it to be more of a pleasant diversion, only to re-inspire without overdoing or overthinking everything.
This story Hours, is kind of intriguing, about an adolescent boy whose a student at a boarding school of some sort, that has found himself being led into a mystery of sorts involving a gymnasium.
Facebook post
Okay, I know this may be overwhelming as far as projects go. But I assure all of you, the new album is coming along very nicely and will be out relatively soon. In the meantime, I just can't help myself in letting you guys and gals know about a new little project of mine called Hours. It's an audio novel, releasing chapter by chapter. First chapter is up and downloadable if you are interested! http://hoursthestory.bandcamp.com
Monday, February 27, 2012
The River Empires - Five Circles (Free MP3 Download)
Last week a brand new song was posted for free in case you haven't heard. A viable date for the new album will be announced in the next couple weeks! As well as some updates regarding the series...
I am of course incredibly curious about this, maybe more so about the Series. I'm going to stand by my belief that if the Series ends up anywhere beyond an ONLINE SERIES, likely Animated, I will be rather surprised if not shocked. I would LOVE for it to find its way onto any network. IFC, AMC, SYFY, FOX, or even G4, which was the network The Dear Hunter appeared on Attack of the Show.
But to expect it to happen? I guess I don't want to anticipate something too big.
And as far as Mars Brighton II, it immediately becomes my most anticipated record this year. Past Ne Obliviscaris, Ramona Falls, The Reign of Kindo, Mew and others. But based on that, I'm almost leaning toward expecting it to not be as good as those albums nor Epilogue. That way if it is, I don't have to put pressure on it and myself for it to be so good.
But given how great Epilogue is/was, by default, this becomes the biggest record on my radar now.
The new song "Five Circles" by the way, is totally sublime.
The new song "Five Circles" by the way, is totally sublime.
no I haven't heard it yet as I'm working OT at work right now. The title sounds familiar, as I think they may have played it live at that show that was shared last Summer.
Anyway, just gave them a modest tip. Seeing this is rather encouraging.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Jessy Ribordy Chat
I just noticed this over on The Dear Hunter fans forum, a live chat I guess he did the other night.
Not a ton of details, but he's shooting for another album (Mars/Brighton II) for The River Empires this year. And he's writing the next Falling Up album.Apparently a new forum may come soon for fans of Falling Up and/or The River Empiers.
10:00 basic band info
10:03 music video in the works
10:05 Remix EP (like the quadra remix!!!) out in a month or so hopefully!
10:07 first show coming up soon (saturday?) portland, or
10:08 working on new music this year!
10:10 Q&A time
10:11 will play old FU songs in their shows
10:12 concerning YSDC: he's a fiction/sci-fi writer, so Fangs was natural. YSDC is fiction that shows emotion. "narrative is about hope in the most dire times."
10:15 story preview? more tweets incoming. fangs + river empires + cellar door info @JessyCalvin
10:16 second RE album? (duh.) shooting for release this year.
10:17 what does MSCRON stand for? mascaron (wiki it!) kid goes to hospital, finds out he has some sort of cancer, it's too late. "It's that moment when you find out you're not invincible." (my question, suckas)
10:21 fangs 2? definitely. wants to finish the story, of course. no eta.
10:23 gloomcatcher on spotify/itunes? maybe. semirant about pirating vs. spotify and how it benefits the artist. (possibly vs. probably not)
10:25 collab with owl city? (wtf.) tactfully denied.
10:26 uk dates? open to the idea.
10:27 hobbies? writing and music, hiking and camping. not a gamer. not big into sports. "I'm kinda a workoholic."
10:30 diamnds? just because. likes how the word looks without vowels. hahaha
10:32 talking about his writing, concept of finding the light in a dark situation.
10:34 what is Vates? it is a thing he made up, apparently. he won't explain more because it is integral to several stories. (!!!!!!!)
10:36 what inspired you to start the band? following his heart. he considers it his job. "doesn't feel like doing anything else."
10:37 story as a video game? he had an idea, but since he's not into gaming...
10:39 message at the end of darkspeed? story-related. he's planting easter eggs.
10:40 are you still a christian? gets asked that a lot. "It's not about what I say...(compares to C.S. Lewis, sci-fi/fiction with possible hints of metaphor)...i would love for people to maybe look at our situation...as waiting to see the whole thing."
10:44 something about demon hunter??? no idea, didn't listen.
10:45 was captiva a proto-fangs? (my q!) YES! FREAKING CALLED IT.
10:48 Circadian meaning? basically a "hold on, don't freak out yet." moment, "hear us out", so to speak. More about the music industry, and how it works/their place in it. "I can write a song, and it can kinda defend ourselves."
10:54 acoustic album? not likely.
10:54 why do the song titles make no sense? (lol'd) he likes watching trailers, sometimes more than the actual movies. to him a song title is like a trailer.
10:57 loses his place in the questions, hahaha.
10:58 pick one song from each album to keep. exit lights: islander. captiva: dark side of indoor track meets. fangs!: --QUESTION ABANDONED--
11:00 take lessons? not so much. watches and learns.
11:00 new merch? new t-shirts.
11:01 new fan-submission place? website in the works! new something sometime.
11:02 song titles from captiva? picked one: dark side of indoor track meets was written at an indoor track meet.
11:07 have you matured in your faith since starting FU? thinks yes. doesn't like the word 'maturing' necessarily. more like growing in a relationship.
11:10 meaning of The Dark Side of Indoor Track Meets? you can try everything, until you reach the point that grace has to step in.
11:11 gypsy in TRE? DENIED.
11:11 what in your musical career would you do differently? Not be afraid to do his own thing. (makes sense, given his troubles with popular perception and industry/labels)
11:14 uke on any sort of album? yes. his dad is hawaiian(!)
11:15 waffles or pancakes? NEITHER.
11:15 unofficial forum? greenlight. (I'll be making that shortly.)
--getting more sporadic. will update if he evens out.--
--confession: I am just being lazy. this liveblog stuff is tedious.--
11:23 josh shroy? still around, doing more mixing.
11:26 do you worry that your stories will tangle up/leave loose ends? sometimes. but optimistic.
11:27 inspiration behind Oceans? a basic love song. written before fangs! (!)
11:28 to collab with? paul mccartney
11:29 favorite topic to write about? sci-fi. idea of characters knowing something beforehand, allowing for very deliberate (and possibly confusing) actions.
11:33 favorite song to record? MSCRON. recorded in two takes with a "secret weapon pedal" for some swoopy synthy guitars.
11:36 influences: henry mancini. 80s & 90s pop. Ben Folds - Rock in the Suburbs. Incubus - Make Yourself.
11:39 closing comments. thanks for fannage. j/k.
11:39 thoughts on kickstarter? likes it.
11:40 watched lost? YES. rant time: lost covered so many subjects (sci-fi wise: time travel, mythology, aliens, science, ghosts, etc.) so new things that use the same ideas get compared to lost. (does sound annoying.)
11:43 favorite shows: firefly, mad men, dr. who, lost
11:43 signing off again. enjoyed teh chat. will set up again. "You guys are the best. You guys are awesome. I love you."
11:45 "Okay....have to find out how to get this thing off..." cut to black.
Not a ton of details, but he's shooting for another album (Mars/Brighton II) for The River Empires this year. And he's writing the next Falling Up album.Apparently a new forum may come soon for fans of Falling Up and/or The River Empiers.
10:00 basic band info
10:03 music video in the works
10:05 Remix EP (like the quadra remix!!!) out in a month or so hopefully!
10:07 first show coming up soon (saturday?) portland, or
10:08 working on new music this year!
10:10 Q&A time
10:11 will play old FU songs in their shows
10:12 concerning YSDC: he's a fiction/sci-fi writer, so Fangs was natural. YSDC is fiction that shows emotion. "narrative is about hope in the most dire times."
10:15 story preview? more tweets incoming. fangs + river empires + cellar door info @JessyCalvin
10:16 second RE album? (duh.) shooting for release this year.
10:17 what does MSCRON stand for? mascaron (wiki it!) kid goes to hospital, finds out he has some sort of cancer, it's too late. "It's that moment when you find out you're not invincible." (my question, suckas)
10:21 fangs 2? definitely. wants to finish the story, of course. no eta.
10:23 gloomcatcher on spotify/itunes? maybe. semirant about pirating vs. spotify and how it benefits the artist. (possibly vs. probably not)
10:25 collab with owl city? (wtf.) tactfully denied.
10:26 uk dates? open to the idea.
10:27 hobbies? writing and music, hiking and camping. not a gamer. not big into sports. "I'm kinda a workoholic."
10:30 diamnds? just because. likes how the word looks without vowels. hahaha
10:32 talking about his writing, concept of finding the light in a dark situation.
10:34 what is Vates? it is a thing he made up, apparently. he won't explain more because it is integral to several stories. (!!!!!!!)
10:36 what inspired you to start the band? following his heart. he considers it his job. "doesn't feel like doing anything else."
10:37 story as a video game? he had an idea, but since he's not into gaming...
10:39 message at the end of darkspeed? story-related. he's planting easter eggs.
10:40 are you still a christian? gets asked that a lot. "It's not about what I say...(compares to C.S. Lewis, sci-fi/fiction with possible hints of metaphor)...i would love for people to maybe look at our situation...as waiting to see the whole thing."
10:44 something about demon hunter??? no idea, didn't listen.
10:45 was captiva a proto-fangs? (my q!) YES! FREAKING CALLED IT.
10:48 Circadian meaning? basically a "hold on, don't freak out yet." moment, "hear us out", so to speak. More about the music industry, and how it works/their place in it. "I can write a song, and it can kinda defend ourselves."
10:54 acoustic album? not likely.
10:54 why do the song titles make no sense? (lol'd) he likes watching trailers, sometimes more than the actual movies. to him a song title is like a trailer.
10:57 loses his place in the questions, hahaha.
10:58 pick one song from each album to keep. exit lights: islander. captiva: dark side of indoor track meets. fangs!: --QUESTION ABANDONED--
11:00 take lessons? not so much. watches and learns.
11:00 new merch? new t-shirts.
11:01 new fan-submission place? website in the works! new something sometime.
11:02 song titles from captiva? picked one: dark side of indoor track meets was written at an indoor track meet.
11:07 have you matured in your faith since starting FU? thinks yes. doesn't like the word 'maturing' necessarily. more like growing in a relationship.
11:10 meaning of The Dark Side of Indoor Track Meets? you can try everything, until you reach the point that grace has to step in.
11:11 gypsy in TRE? DENIED.
11:11 what in your musical career would you do differently? Not be afraid to do his own thing. (makes sense, given his troubles with popular perception and industry/labels)
11:14 uke on any sort of album? yes. his dad is hawaiian(!)
11:15 waffles or pancakes? NEITHER.
11:15 unofficial forum? greenlight. (I'll be making that shortly.)
--getting more sporadic. will update if he evens out.--
--confession: I am just being lazy. this liveblog stuff is tedious.--
11:23 josh shroy? still around, doing more mixing.
11:26 do you worry that your stories will tangle up/leave loose ends? sometimes. but optimistic.
11:27 inspiration behind Oceans? a basic love song. written before fangs! (!)
11:28 to collab with? paul mccartney
11:29 favorite topic to write about? sci-fi. idea of characters knowing something beforehand, allowing for very deliberate (and possibly confusing) actions.
11:33 favorite song to record? MSCRON. recorded in two takes with a "secret weapon pedal" for some swoopy synthy guitars.
11:36 influences: henry mancini. 80s & 90s pop. Ben Folds - Rock in the Suburbs. Incubus - Make Yourself.
11:39 closing comments. thanks for fannage. j/k.
11:39 thoughts on kickstarter? likes it.
11:40 watched lost? YES. rant time: lost covered so many subjects (sci-fi wise: time travel, mythology, aliens, science, ghosts, etc.) so new things that use the same ideas get compared to lost. (does sound annoying.)
11:43 favorite shows: firefly, mad men, dr. who, lost
11:43 signing off again. enjoyed teh chat. will set up again. "You guys are the best. You guys are awesome. I love you."
11:45 "Okay....have to find out how to get this thing off..." cut to black.
Friday, December 23, 2011
2011 Album Index 40-31
40. Falling Up - Your Sparking Death Cometh
Jessy Ribordy's original, heavier, more electric, rock-oriented band. Their last album, 2009 Fangs! I have come to enjoy a lot. And part of that is the production quality, and part of that also is the seemingly departure of the Christian element. Like Fangs!, this album was produced by Casey Crescenzo, and it was recorded at Casey's studio in Southern California.
I had high hopes for it, after enjoying Fangs! more and more, and contributing to the successful Kickstarter campaign. While I'd say at this point, I don't enjoy this album as much as Fangs! nor was it as addictive as I hoped (like The River Empires of course), I guess I enjoy a lot of it. There's a strong sense of grandiosity and epic-ness (if that is really a word to use), about it. It often sounds like Jessy's trying to sound like a rock band backed by a symphony orchestra. Lot of heavy, thick synthesizers and guitar tones, and doubled (or more tracked) vocals.
I suppose part of what hurt it overall is it's length. I'd say I enjoy the first two-thirds (or the 1st 35 or so minutes) of the album okay, but the last 3 or 4 tracks I almost get a sense of samey-ness to it.. But as far as specifics, the 1st track "Circadian" has one of those repeated vocal lines I can't get out of my head.
(x2) And they're burying all of the evidence
My glamorous words will catch them
Burying all of the evidence
Some thousands of eyes are watching (x2)
Songs like "The Wonder" reminds me of something off Fangs!, with the vocal and guitar textures. "Diamnds" and "Blue Ghost" are catchy enough, their melodies stay with me.
So while this album didn't blow me away, it still ended up as one of the albums I enjoyed this year. I guess it's clear though, I don't look for them to reach the interest level that The River Empires is, and maybe even The Gloomcatcher. But especially leaving the Christian side out of their music, I enjoy Falling Up enough. Now what exactly happens with Jessy's schedule and priorities in the future for each project? it seems still only up for speculation. I recall reading things favoring both Falling Up and The River Empires, and as well, the thing Casey Crescenzo mentioned to me about scoring films. I guess no matter what he does, it'll be something I and this blog will keep tabs on.
39. Skeleton Staff - Psychomorphism
The sophomore release from one of the best new power-pop bands. They hail from Australia, which happens to becoming more and more of a hotbed for new music.
Honestly, this album was released on December 12th, and I've only been able to listen to it 3 or 4 times. And the best things I can say about it is, it's like their last record, rather consistent and catchy. It doesn't vary too much, and it includes about 40 minutes worth of music.
Many songs include the trademark vocal harmonies and Brian May-ish guitar parts, catchy piano, and the occasional string layers. "Prince of Thieves," "The World In 7 Days," "Capsize" "Rat Poision" and "Gateway to the Stars" among them.
I think my favorite track could be "Turnstyle" which stands out stylistically being more groove/almost-funk oriented. It's very energetic and catchy.
A solid 2nd record from this band, which is one I suppose time will tell more on how well it holds up. But for now, it's an album I enjoy, and given how recently it was released, I probably will listen to more than some other 2011 albums in 2012.
38. The Galactic Cowboy Orchestra - All Out of Peaches
One of John Wright's, of Lehto & Wright's other, newer projects, which features his wife Lisi and 2 other talented musicians in Dan Neale on guitar and Mark O'Day on drums. Their sound blends a few genres pretty well in jazz, bluegrass and progressive rock, or as they like to call themselves "New Grass Art Rock."
This is their 2nd release, and I guess I'd say it's about as good if not a little better than their debut album from 2009 Lookin' For a Little Strange. There's a few songs on here that stand out, "The Blaze" "Five Up Front" "At Cross Purposes" the title track, plus the 2 epics "Memo 9" and "Minion." Some very nice violin work from Lisi on those, especially "The Blaze." That tune could be on pop radio to be honest, but of course, save for KFAI and maybe KBEM, none of the stations would ever consider playing it.
There's really good production on this album, and it captures at least a good amount of the energy they have live. Good musicianship, tight songwriting, dynamics that keep your attention, and a blend of styles all work here, like on their last record. They even covered surprsingly, a Lady Gaga song in "Paparazzi."
They've garnered some attention in other parts of the country on tour, which is good to know, but also silly that the same interest level may not be what it is even in their home here in Minnesota.
37. Jolly - The Audio Guide to Happiness (Part 1)
I first head this band's name in the summer of 2010. And I don't even think I listened to them, just based on some of the comments. They sounded like they were another one of those bands who are aping other, better bands. And then the Used Bin Radio guys interviewed one of the members and started talking about them enough to get me curious. And I checked out this record and enjoyed it somewhat, but not enough to go back to it more than one or two more times.
Well in the last month I revisited it, and realized it's definitely a grower, and the band can be awfully good at times. They do remind me of Oceansize among some other bands. Their singer I think was part of my issue with them, but his voice works well enough with their music. He has a deeper, (tenor?) style of singing on most of their songs. A bit like other bands such as Minus the Bear or Umphrey's McGee, in that they don't need a standout lead vocal for their songs to work. They just need to have vocal lines mix well enough with their music.
I'd say highlight-wise, tracks like the catchy-ness of "Joy," the almost-ethnic (Pat Metheny-s Pedro Aznar) vocal chanting on "Where Everything's Perfect" and "Still a Dream" along with the raw, heaviness and crunchy layers on "The Pattern" really do enough for me. Along with the narrative and segue sections, which might seem cheesy at 1st, but I think works overall and don't go on for extensive amounts of time.
So, while I don't know how big a fan of this band I'll ever become, nor are they the most original group I've listened to in many years or anything, I think their songwriting and the way this album was composed is impressive enough, I could easily see myself going back to it and their previous record in the coming years.
36. Younger Brother - Vaccine
This is a side-project of Simone Posford of the English electronic band Shpongle and Benji Vaughan of Prometheus. I've been continuously impressed in just hearing this in recent weeks, it jumped all the way up in the Index. I guess why that is, is primarily due to the flow and great moody nature of it. It's kind of a mix of electronic-pop/rock, and ambient music. I guess being a fan of groups like Stateless and Woven, among others (Porcupine Tree, Pure Reason Revolution, OSI ? even), this seemed to work really well. This album featured more vocals than their previous 2.
The 1st couple of tracks sound kind of poppy, but it seems from then on, the album flows rather well. A nice mood record, and also trippy enough at times to want to go back to listen closer. Their use of samples, vocal effects, guitar textures, and the drum work, are reasons to continue to go back to it.
Suggested: Night Lead Me Astray, Spinning Into Place, Train
35. Al Di Meola - Pursuit of Radical Rhapsody
I saw Al play a solo show I want to say back in 2008, and he played some of the music that ended up on this record live that was pretty great. I distinctly remember the Italian vibe to much of it, with accordion namely. His acoustic fret-board work plus those accordion textures, I couldn't forget.
So hearing this album I was brought back to that show a bit. Al Di Meola being who he is and his past work, the changing times and ultra busy leads are not something unusual. But I think the actual varying textures and dynamics give this record a unique style. It does remind me some of his early work (namely his 1st 4, classic lps), where I have my head-turn intermittently. I can't help just love hearing Al solo and play fast, but still within the structure of the songs he writes.
This record goes from multi-section italian, to latin jazz pieces that build to great peaks, to ballads that evoke great calm. While his presence was missed on the Return to Forever tour this Summer, this record at least gave me and many others our Al Di Meola and Jazz-Rock fix.
Kaddisfly - Demos & Rarities [Compilation]
Well I posted about this over the weekend, and it sort of came out of nowhere. I might not be so knowledgeable as to know the exact date Kaddisfly formed, but it was 10 years ago this past week, and this was the way they decided to say Happy Anniversary.
Kaddisfly has been on Hiatus since 2009, but not too long before that, they had recorded these demos for a showcase I recall in New York City in front of some major record labels. Some of these tunes I recall them playing live (and some other new songs as well, that apparently never got demo-ed well enough to share). "It Has to Be This Way" specifically is the song that I recall most. And I'll admit to having heard other versions of it, but the one on here they made available on their bandcamp page is without question the best.
But I'd say every song on here is excellent. It's almost a tease as it reminds me why I love Kaddisfly's music so much. "Man on a String" is probably as powerful and emotional a song I've ever heard them make.The ending of "Conan" is pretty crazy, almost like "Via Rail" in a way. "Hourglass" and "Lately" are both songs I could see working on any of their other records. Very lyrical and having those driving choruses. 'Slow Motion" and "You Are a Painter" are kind of epic, in a subtle way.
Most of the guys are now doing Water & Bodies, which is great, but this collection of songs just reminds me of what was so great about Kaddisfly, and what is different about Water & Bodies.
I suppose among the songs that didn't get included, one specific song, the 8-minute track "Flowers" is the main thing that comes to mind given it was supposed to be a b-side for Set Sail the Prairie . But in reading a comment a bit ago on their Facebook page about it, the band don't own the rights to it, their ex-record label Hopeless Records does. So the band sadly had no ability to include it. But it is on Youtube amongst other places online for those wondering.
34. Tokyo Jihen - Daihakken
A friend and co-volunteer in KFAI's music library was playing some stuff last June for me one week I was there, and this happened to be one of the bands he brought in. Tokyo Jihen (or Tokyo Incidents) are this Japanese group who explore many different styles of music, while featuring a female lead singer who can sing in many different styles (and accents). Call them J-Rock, J-Pop, jazzy punk, loungey-prog, pop-ballading reggae, Symphonic-pop, etc. They really pull off, quite well, an assortment of styles. But I suppose it's their overall songwriting I am impressed by the most.
I checked out some of their other records, and eventually their singer Ringo Shina's solo work as well. I believe it was Adult that was what my friend at KFAI was playing for me. A great energy record, and something I wanted to try and track down a hard-copy. I have yet to do so with that album, nor with this new album of theirs. "Daihakken" I guess means "discovery" in Japanese. A fitting title for me anyway.
Like a number of other albums this year, I find about a couple of songs in, it really starts to work. "Osorubeki Otona Tachi," is extremely catchy and yet jazzy/funky/loungey at the same time.
"Adam and Eve would toss the apple away,
the earth would turn the other way
You'd live up far on some barren star,
but down below you might hear us laughing
I'll give you all you're wanting so bad,
hold out your hands,
whisper a prayer
Can you feel forever and ever?
"(Kinjirareta Asobi)" is quite the rocker, "Atarashii Bunmeikaika" is playful power-pop number. I love the flow of "Sora ga Natteiru," which fades and then nicely segues into the following song "Kaze ni Ayakatte Ik,." That one which features some odd guitar textures along with Shina Ringo's repeated vocal phrasing on some lyrics, one being "Space Space Space Space Invaderssss" Even the last standard track "Onna no Ko wa Daredemo" has this great jazzy-pop charm to it.
So this is one of those records that has a handful of quite good, memorable tunes on it. And I can't say I ever got bored with it. The Japanese music I've gotten into in recent years is not extensive, with Mutyumu, Kacica, Presence of Soul and a few others. But this band (and Ringo Shina's solo work) are one I can include among that group now.
33. Team Me - To the Treetops
A member on the progressiveears.com forum suggested this band I want to say sometime last Summer. And honestly, a lot of the suggestions I get from that site are nice thoughts, but often don't do much for me. But this band for whatever reason, really did.
After checking out and liking their Self-Titled EP, I noticed this debut album coming out from this band from Norway. I actually didn't expect a full-length so soon. But after hearing the EP, I was rather intrigued by this full-length coming, and it turned out to be one excellent debut record. It's filled with upbeat, energetic, orchestral pop/rock. Vocally they remind me of Mew and some other bands. Including wonderful use of vocal harmonies Musically I'm reminded of the likes of The Polyphonic Spree, Annuals and Anathallo.
Song-wise, the thing that stands out most, is the outstanding flow from track-to-track. I'd say just the 1st 5 or 6 tracks are equally good. It's really one of those albums that's great to wake up to, or one to put on for energy or an uplifting mood. And that's why it got rather addictive, in a short time. And why I wouldn't be surprised I'll be listening to it often in the coming years.
32. Mutemath - Odd Soul
The 3rd album from this band, and the 1st since the departure of original/longtime guitarist Greg Hill. I was initially skeptical how good this could be with his leaving, but as it turns out, even with a little style change, the quality of the songwriting wasn't affected much if at all.
Actually, many others have said this is better than their last album from 2009 Armistice. While I wouldn't necessarily agree with that, I can understand why. There's some wonderful, epic tracks on this album. And they showed they can write music that's more heavily influenced by 70's classic rock and funk. Some of the fuzz guitar really grooves on this album. "Tell Your Heart Heads Up," "Quarantine," "Allies," and especially "Cavalaries" for example, have that great, badass groove.
The song "All or Nothing" is another standout, in that it starts out like one of their traditional ballads, but about 2:45-in this build starts on with what sounds like on a synthesizer, and it leads to this awesome climax.
This may ultimately become my favorite record of theirs (why I think I probably am underating it a bit at 32), and while I'd be surprised if I'll ever prefer their recorded music over their shows, this is definitely a sign of a band who hasn't tailed off in their songwriting. Now, they haven't made one of those perfect, epic, classic records yet, but at least they aren't a band I would soon dismiss based on this.
31. Hands of Despair - Hereafter
This is one of the best produced Metal albums I've ever heard. I'm not sure how, but I'd say this ranks up there with The River Empires, Kevin Gilbert and the last Soundscape album in amazement on the clarity and clean-tone that was able to be captured. So much so, I'm not sure I pay enough attention to the actual music itself.
But I did enough to appreciate this. Their vocals sound fantastic, some clean, some using deeper guttural growls really effectively. Some of the songs have nice quieter sections that segue well to the heavier parts. Many symphonic parts including synths (and mellotron perhaps?), blast beats, and forceful power chords all seem to work together with their vocals.
This is how Death Metal can work, or at least Death Metal with some doom and progressive elements being it's only 6 tracks, but all of which range between 7 and 11 or so minutes.. It's not over-the-top, but it's not generic. It's just well thought-out and precise. And it clearly is a band whose doing this music, to make good sounding music. If even a fraction of the hard rock and metal bands had this band's attention to detail, the production issues with so many albums would not factor in.
A really intense album, that at times is a mindfuck of ferocity.
Suggested: Creator, Shattered Memories
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